Use Meta Tags to Improve Traffic from Google

Are the meta tags optimized properly within your website?

If not, you are missing out on valuable traffic from Google and other major search engines.

Updating the meta title tags and meta description tags will change how the page is displayed within search results, without changing the title or content within the page itself. Adding optimized content to the meta title tags and meta description tags within the most important pages of your site can help improve how pages are ranked in search results at Google and increase new user engagement.

What are meta title tags and how do they work?

Meta title tags: Updating the meta title field will change how the pages are labeled in browser tabs and how the link to pages are displayed within search results at Google and other major search engines. It's always recommended to define the meta title using 60 characters or less and every page should have a unique meta title. When a meta title is not defined, the page title will be used as the meta title by default.

The meta title tag controls how the page is labeled in browser tabs, without changing the main title of the page itself. Making updates to meta title tags does not change how links to pages are displayed within a website, but rather adding content to these fields changes how the link to the page is displayed to search engine users.

It's always best to optimize the meta title of pages by using relevant keywords. Be sure to include the page title and important keywords that are also contained within the content and meta description tag. It's normally best to keep meta title of blog posts the same as the title of the article, which can be achieved by leaving the meta title field blank.

What are meta description tags and how do they work?

Meta description tags: When used properly meta description tags help to improve both the quality and quantity of traffic that website receives. When meta description data is not used for a page, you are rolling the dice, search engines will automatically populate the text, which can result in unwanted text that will describe the page, article, or product.

On the other hand, improper use of the meta description field or adding content that is not relevant to the title and page content can cause poor page performance and less than desirable results at Google.

Internet marketing and SEO specialists recommend optimizing meta description tags of pages and blog articles by using relevant keywords and keyword phrases, be sure to include the page title and important keywords that can be found within the main content body of the page and meta title tag or page title. For best results it's recommended to keep the content within the meta description at 160 characters or less and every page should have unique meta description tag content defined.

Quickly check to verify the character length of content changes within the meta description and meta tag fields with this Online Character Count Tool

Meta title tag content should be 60 characters or less.

Meta description content should be 160 characters or less.

Remember, for the best results use informative, inviting, and relevant content. Keep in mind the meta data defined and displayed in search results can be aimed to engage potential customers by directing visitors to click on the link to your website, rather than a competitors site.

After updating the meta tags with optimized content, it's important to analyze the meta tag data to insure it's relevant to the page content and other important SEO factors.

We recommend using this free Meta tag Analyzer Tool to check the relevancy of the updates made to the meta tags and verify the character length of the meta description and meta tag fields are within the recommended limits.

While analyzing the important pages throughout your site, look for opportunities to make improvements to the meta tag content within pages, products, categories, sections, events, and articles. The best time to make updates to the meta title and/or meta description tags is after making updates to content, after adding new products, pages, post, articles, categories and/or sections. Spending the time to properly optimize meta tags is always time well spent!